Principal SWE, Data Lake Engineering

This is a remote position; however, the candidate must reside within 30 miles of one of the following locations: Portland, ME; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; and San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

About the Team/Role

The Data Lake Engineering team at WEX builds a unified, scalable data platform supporting AI and machine learning applications across the company. They collaborate with departments like Data & Analytics, Security, and Risk to enhance data accessibility, scalability, and innovation, aiming to drive WEX’s tech transformation and support a growing customer base.

The Principal Software Engineer (SWE) will lead the technical architecture and development of WEX’s Data Lake platform. Reporting to the VP of Data Lake and AI Engineering, they’ll ensure quality, security, and scalability while integrating with company-wide platforms. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in data lake environments and hands-on leadership skills.

How you’ll make an impact

• Lead and drive the development of technology and platform for the company's Data Lake needs, ensuring functional richness, reliability, performance, and flexibility.
• Help design the architecture and lead the implementation of the Data Lake platform and services.
• Challenge the status quo and drive for better technical solutions to effectively serve all needs in the broad risk area of WEX.
• Guide your team to leverage data and/or AI technology or tools in your design and development for high productivity and better solution quality.
• Partner with senior engineers across the organization to understand business needs and develop technical solutions.
• Collaborate with information security teams to ensure data security and privacy.
• Work with solutions architecture and LOB product and engineering teams on integrations of the Data Lake Platform.
• Engage with external partners and vendors to evaluate technologies and services that complement the company’s Data Lake strategy.
• Create, prioritize, communicate, manage, and execute roadmaps, project plans, and commitments.
• Report on the status of development, quality, operations, and system performance to management and partners.
• Drive the technical vision and strategy of Data Lake to meet business needs.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineering teams, fostering an environment of continuous learning and innovation.
• Set measurable quality goals for your group in a data-driven way.
• Partner with security and SRE organizations to ensure continuous improvement and compliance with security requirements.
• Take financial responsibility for your team.
• Hold yourself and your team accountable for delivering quality results using defined OKRs.
• Advise Senior Leadership on complex situations impacting the organization.
• Provide strategic thought leadership on business initiatives using your technical and industry expertise.

Experience you’ll bring

• 15-20 years of software design and development experience at a large scale.
• Strong software development skills in chosen programming languages, with readiness to learn Java and Python.
• Understanding of Data Lakehouse formats like Apache Hudi, Apache Iceberg, or Delta Lake is a plus.
• Experience in Spark programming.
• Experience with Spark on DBT with AWS Glue or Apache Polaris is a plus.
• Understanding of cloud architecture tools and services, such as S3, EMR, Kubernetes, and Lambda functions; experience in AWS and Azure is desirable.
• Hands-on experience in architecture design, development, deployment, and production operation.
• Experience in Big Data and large-scale data platforms, especially in Data Lake.
• Understanding of CI/CD automation.
• Experience in agile development and leading teams in effective development practices.
• Excellent analytical skills; capable of identifying and resolving complex problems.
• Understanding of payment organizations is a plus.
• A mentor to individual contributors of different seniority levels.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field; a higher degree is a plus.

Leadership & Personal Characteristics

• Demonstrates a collaborative, engaging, mission-driven style with good listening skills.
• Champions a culture of high standards and embraces change based on integrity and financial responsibility.
• Able to operate in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment with a hands-on approach.
• Leads with empathy and promotes a culture of trust, transparency, and diversity.
• Communicates effectively in various group formats and articulates a compelling vision.
• Engages and develops talent, managing diverse teams to drive engagement and performance.
• Possesses a high level of intellectual curiosity and learning agility.
• Understands nuance and drives change through influence across a complex business.

The base pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position. Actual pay rates will vary based on qualifications, skills, and proficiency for the role. Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurances, retirement savings plan, paid time off, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, and more. Pay Range: $195,000.00 - $260,000.00